Systems and methods for developing and implementing personalized health and wellness programs

ABSTRACT

User-specific medical, genetic, fitness, environmental and nutritional data is collected to develop personalized health and wellness programs for improving a user&#39;s health and wellness. The user-specific data may be collected from medical or genetic tests, mobile health devices worn by the user and applications through which the user manually inputs information. The user-specific data is then collected and analyzed together based on knowledge of the interrelationships between medical, genetic, fitness, environmental and nutrition data to develop a comprehensive user profile and personalized health and wellness programs that are targeted to improving specific areas of the user&#39;s health by implementing changes in fitness, nutrition, medical treatment, environment, etc. The user is provided with a customizable, interactive dashboard graphical user interface of their current health and wellness data, which, along with notifications, incentives and rewards, helps the user improve their overall health and wellness and significantly reduce their risk of morbidity.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The embodiments described herein are related to collecting and trackingmedical, genetic, fitness, environmental and nutrition information usingmobile health devices and customized applications, developingpersonalized health and wellness programs designed to reduce keymorbidity risks, and monitoring and motivating users with a customizedand interactive health and wellness dashboard interface.

2. Related Art

A person's overall health and wellness is the result of a number ofdifferent factors. Genetic profiles, medical history, fitness activityand nutrition all affect a person's overall health and wellness. Theinterrelationships between all of these factors are still not fullyunderstood and are the subject of continuing research. However, even forfactors which are individually known to be the cause of disease orpromote health and wellness, there is no mechanism for a person or evena healthcare provider to attempt to understand these factors, how theyrelate to each other and how they may be utilized in optimizing aperson's overall health and wellness.

Cardiac disease is the leading cause of death, and has been since 1918.Someone has a heart attack or stroke every 10 seconds, amounting to2,400,000 deaths in the United States each year. 1 in 3 adults in theU.S. will die from cardiovascular disease, and not surprisingly, 1 in 3adults in the U.S. are obese. 1 in 3 people also have undiagnosedcardiovascular disease, and cancer and heart disease combine for overhalf of the deaths in the U.S. each year. The traditional methods oftreating cardiovascular disease are not driving down mortality, andstudies are beginning to show an “obesity paradox” based on the lack ofcorrelation between adiposity and cardiovascular disease. FIG. 1 is abar graph illustrating a comparison between body mass index (BMI) andcentral obesity (via waist-to-hip ratio) in assessing mortality ofsubjects with coronary artery disease. As shown in FIG. 1, the highestmortality rates are found in individuals with a waist-to-hip ratio ofgreater than 1, indicating a large amount of visceral fat surroundingthe abdominal organs. The mortality rate is even higher amongst theindividuals with a waist-to-hip ratio greater than 1 who have an overalllow BMI of 18.5-21.9, indicating that an individual with a low BMI and aconcentration of fat only around the waist are the most at-riskindividuals.

FIG. 2 further illustrates this statistic via the body-shapeillustrations of the individuals represented in the bar graph of FIG. 1.As stated below the illustrations, the increased risk of mortality ofPerson 2 (the individual with a lower BMI but a high waist-to-hip ratio)is statistically significant in comparison with the other individuals,including Person 5, who would be classified as morbidly obese.Additional recent studies have also noted the unusual lack ofcorrelation between BMI and morbidity, once thought to be the primarymeasurement indicative of health, likelihood of disease and overallmorbidity.

Existing methods of promoting weight loss, better diet and regularexercise fail to account for the peculiarities of the obesity paradox,and are therefore failing to address the root cause of morbidity for alarge population of individuals which are at risk of cardiovasculardisease.

SUMMARY

The embodiments described herein relate to collecting and analyzinguser-specific medical, genetic, fitness, environmental and nutritionaldata to develop comprehensive, personalized health and wellness programsfor improving key health factors which have a high correlation to commonmorbidities. The user-specific data may be collected from a variety ofsources, including medical or genetic tests, mobile health devices wornby the user and applications through which the user manually inputsinformation. The user-specific data is then analyzed based on knowledgeof the interrelationships between medical, genetic, fitness,environmental and nutrition data to develop a comprehensive userprofile. The user profile is then used to develop personalized healthand wellness programs that are targeted to improving key health factorssuch as oxygen consumption, metabolism, visceral fat, body fat andposture, amongst others, by implementing changes in fitness, nutrition,health care, environment and other behavioral components. The user isprovided with a customized, interactive graphical user interfacedashboard and one or more mobile health devices and applications totrack and monitor their current health and wellness data and motivatethe user to achieve their personalized goals.

In one aspect of the invention, a method of developing and implementingpersonalized health and wellness programs comprises the steps of:collecting health data pertaining to a user; building a user healthprofile based on the collected health data; developing a health andwellness program for the user based on the user health profile;collecting user activity pertaining to the user's participation in thehealth and wellness program from one or more wireless health devices;and evaluating the user's health based on the collected user activity

In another aspect of the invention, a system for developing andimplementing personalized health and wellness programs, comprising: adashboard server which is configured to perform the steps of: collectinghealth data pertaining to a user; building a user health profile basedon the collected health data; and developing a health and wellnessprogram for the user based on the user health profile; one or morewireless health devices which collect user activity pertaining to theuser's participation in the health and wellness program; and aninteractive graphical user interface which displays the user's activityand the health and wellness program on a monitor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the description, serve to explain the objects, advantages,and principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a bar graph illustrating a correlation between body massindex, central obesity and morbidity;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of different body types based on body massindex and central obesity as they relate to morbidity;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a system and method of collecting andanalyzing user-specific data to develop comprehensive, personalizedhealth and wellness programs, according to one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the relationship between sourcesof user-specific data and how they are utilizes to develop thepersonalized health and wellness programs, according to one embodiment,the results of which are reflected in the health and wellness dashboard;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the relationship of personalizeddata with software to derive plans that drive outcomes, according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a method of improving a user's health and wellness,according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a time-based implementation of a method ofcollecting and analyzing user-specific data to develop comprehensive,personalized health and wellness programs, according to one embodimentof the invention;

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a chart utilized for measuring beats perminute while assessing the user's maximum heart rate;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a graphical user interface (GUI) health andwellness dashboard which displays user profile and health and wellnessprogram data to the user, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a further embodiment of the health andwellness dashboard displaying a plurality of user-profile data andhealth and wellness program data to the user, according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a computing device displaying thedashboard GUI, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a further illustration of a dashboard GUI, according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a further illustration of a health dashboard interface,according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is an illustration of a fitness dashboard interface, accordingto one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 is an illustration of a nutrition dashboard interface, accordingto one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is an illustration of an alerts interface, according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 17A and 17B are illustrations of a notification displayed on aportable electronic device, according to one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 18 is an illustration of a GUI of a group health and wellnessdashboard illustrating a plurality of information aggregated for a groupof people; according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 19 is an illustration of a GUI of a clinical dashboard for use by amedical or healthcare professional in evaluating the health and wellnessof one or more users, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 20 is another illustration of the GUI of the clinical dashboardwith a plurality of notifications for the one or more users, accordingto one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 is another illustration of the GUI of the clinical dashboardwith additional nutrition information displayed for one or more users,according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 22 is an illustration of a GUI of an interactive messaging serviceintegrated into the health and wellness dashboard for communicationbetween the user and the medical or healthcare professional;

FIG. 23 is another illustration of the GUI of the clinical dashboardwith additional health information displayed for one or more users,according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 24 is an illustration of a points activity interface, according toone embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25 is a table illustrating a points reward system, according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 26 is another table illustrating an outcomes-based points rewardsystem, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 27 is a further table illustrating an incentives-based pointsreward system, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 28 is an yet further table illustrating additional points rewards,according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 29 is a table illustrating physiological changes in a set ofpatients over a period of time after using the systems and methodsdescribed herein, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 30 illustrates the overall statistical change in numerous healthmetrics, including BMI, body fat, trunk fat, RMR and VO2;

FIG. 31 illustrates the change in BMI;

FIG. 32 illustrates the change in body fat;

FIG. 33 illustrates the change in trunk fat;

FIG. 34 illustrates the change in resting metabolic rate (RMR);

FIG. 35 illustrates the change in VO2, according to one embodiment ofthe invention; and

FIG. 36 is a block diagram that illustrates an embodiment of acomputer/server system upon which an embodiment of the inventivemethodology may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

After reading this description it will become apparent to one skilled inthe art how to implement the invention in various alternativeembodiments and alternative applications. However, all the variousembodiments of the present invention will not be described herein. It isunderstood that the embodiments presented here are presented by way ofan example only, and not limitation. As such, this detailed descriptionof various alternative embodiments should not be construed to limit thescope or breadth of the present invention as set forth below.

The embodiments described herein relate to collecting and analyzinguser-specific medical, genetic, fitness, environmental and nutritionaldata to develop comprehensive, personalized health and wellness programsfor improving key health factors which have a high correlation to commonmorbidities. The user-specific data may be collected from a variety ofsources, including traditional medicine, genetic testing, lab testing,nutrition information, fitness, metabolic testing, mobile health devicesworn by the user and applications through which the user manually inputsinformation. The user-specific data is then collected and analyzedtogether based on knowledge of the interrelationships between medical,genetic, fitness, environmental and nutrition data to develop acomprehensive user profile. The user profile is then used to developpersonalized health and wellness programs that are targeted to improvingkey health factors such as oxygen consumption (VO₂), metabolism,visceral fat, body fat and posture, amongst others, by implementingchanges in the user's fitness, nutrition, health care, environment andother behavioral components. The user is provided with a customized,interactive graphical user interface dashboard and one or more mobilehealth devices and applications to track and monitor their currenthealth and wellness data and motivate the user to achieve theirpersonalized goals. The dashboard provides notifications and alerts,points and rewards and analytics of user and group data which can beviewed by the user, a healthcare professional or healthcare planadministrator to monitor and adjust the programs to obtain optimalresults.

The systems and methods described herein utilize mobile healthtechnology and analytics to develop comprehensive health and wellnessprograms customized for each user based on understandings of theinterrelationship between medical, genetic, fitness, environmental andnutrition data. By leveraging the same mobile health technology whichcollects the initial data to continually monitor multiple aspects of theuser's health, the user's progress in implementing the health andwellness programs can be easily monitored and adjusted based on theirprogress to optimize their goals.

The health and wellness programs described herein are designed to createstatistically significant changes in key health factors—such as oxygenconsumption, resting metabolic rate and visceral fat—which have highcorrelations with reductions in leading morbidities and lead to greaterimprovements in the user's overall health and wellness.

I. System Overview

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a system 100 of collecting andanalyzing user-specific data to develop comprehensive personalizedhealth and wellness programs. In this embodiment, data on a user iscollected from a plurality of sources 102, such as a mobile healthdevice 102A, a mobile application on a portable electronic device 102Bor through manual user entry 102C via a computing device. The mobilehealth devices and mobile applications may be configured to collectinformation on the user as the user wears or uses the device. In oneembodiment, these devices may communicate with one or more sourceservers 104, such as device or application servers that receive datacollected and then communicate with a dashboard server 106 of afront-end cloud server to collect the data for analysis. In addition tothe devices, additional user data may be collected at the dashboarddatabase in the form of genomic data 102D from a genomic report or labresults 102E from lab tests that the user has undergone. Additional datamay be entered manually by the user, the user's physician, fitnesstrainer or other health and wellness professional by a computing device,as illustrated in 102C. The dashboard server and database 106 willcollect and store all of the medical, genetic, fitness, environmentaland nutrition information about the user that will then be analyzed togenerate a user profile.

The mobile health devices 102A may be configured to continually collectand report data to the dashboard database in real-time or at periodicincrements so the user profile can be continually updated to provide themost relevant information about the user's health and wellness. Themobile health devices may be connected to a network and configured towirelessly transmit data to the dashboard server and database 106 orthrough a device-specific or application-specific server such as thesource server 104. Some devices may require user input, such as anutrition application running on a portable electronic device in whichthe user inputs dietary and nutrition information. The user may beresponsible for submitting the data manually as it is entered or atperiodic time periods after a certain amount of data is collected. Insome embodiments, the nutrition data may be obtained from mobile healthdevices or at least more accurately tracked by software or applicationsrunning on the portable electronic device 102B (such as a tablet orsmartphone). Similarly, some user fitness data may be generated orreported by a user.

Once the user data is collected at the dashboard database, the dashboardserver 106 will use the data in order to analyze the data and generate auser profile. In this embodiment, the data in the dashboard server anddatabase 106 is protected by a secure firewall 108, and additionalfirewalls may be placed throughout the system to protect data beingtransmitted across the system. The dashboard server 106 then analyzesthe data using customized algorithms which leverage understandings ofthe relationships between the medical, genetic, fitness, environmentaland nutrition data in order to generate a user profile.

The user profile is then used to generate at least one health andwellness program at the dashboard server 106 which containsrecommendations for the user specific to their medical health, fitness,nutrition and environment. The recommendations may relate to recommendeduser activity such as exercise, behavioral changes related to theirenvironment (such as sleep), or nutrition recommendations related totheir diet. In addition, the recommendations may relate to achievingdesired physiological measurements of visceral fat, resting metabolicrate, body fat, posture, cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass, etc.

The user profile and health and wellness programs may be displayed to auser on a graphical user interface (GUI) in the form of a dashboard 112of information which provides an interactive, visual summary of theuser's health and wellness as compiled and analyzed by the dashboardserver 106. Once the dashboard is generated, it may be customized andtransmitted to one or more destination devices for display to aninterested party, including the user dashboard 112A (patient), ahealthcare team dashboard 112B for healthcare professionals responsiblefor the user's health, or a corporate wellness dashboard 112C for anadministrator set up to monitor the user's progress toward specifichealth goals. The users, healthcare professionals and administrators mayinteract with the dashboard through a user interface server 110 whichwill communicate with the dashboard server and database 106.

The mobile health devices 102A and other applications 102B will continueto be utilized to report new user data once the user has begun toimplement the health and wellness programs, and this new data can thenbe used by the dashboard server 106 to compare with the original userdata to determine if the user is implementing the health and wellnessprograms and achieving improved health and wellness through theimplementation of the programs. The new and original data may bedisplayed on the dashboard 112 in graphical or other visual forms tohelp the user or a health professional easily view the user's progresstoward one or more goals related to the health and wellness programs. Byobtaining continuous feedback from the user, the health and wellnessprograms may be continually modified.

FIG. 4 is a graphical illustration of the relationships between sourcesof user-specific data and how they are utilizes to develop thepersonalized health and wellness programs. The metabolic healthassessment 402, genetic and traditional lab testing 404, personalizednutrition and fitness plans 406 and mobile health devices 408 alloperate through optimization of integrated software 410 at the systemlevel to improve the overall health and wellness of the user. Additionaldetails of these relationships will be provided further herein. FIG. 5is a flow diagram illustrating the relationships of personalized data502 with software 504 to derive plans 506 that drive outcomes 508. Thesoftware 504 obtains the personalized data 502 from the user through theuser assessments, then develops the personalized plans 506 for the userto implement. The plans 506 are then monitored and evaluated through themobile health devices connected with the user and the dashboardinterface, all of which drive positive outcomes 508 for the user interms of reduced morbidity and improved health and wellness, improvingthe user's personalized data 502.

II. Program Steps

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a method of improving a user'shealth and wellness, according to one embodiment of the invention. In afirst step 202, data on the user is collected, such as information onthe user's medical, genetic, fitness and nutrition. Existing medicalconditions, genetic predispositions, exercise abilities including bodyperformance testing, diet, caloric intake, etc. may all be collected. Ina next step 204, a user profile is developed which summarizes the healthand wellness of the user based on the collected data. Grading, scoresand other ratings are also determined with the user profile to providean easy to understand metric that assesses the user's overall health andwellness and their risks for morbidities. The grades and other scores,along with specific identified risk factors, will be utilized to develophealth and wellness programs in step 206. The health and wellnessprograms are customized to address the user's specific factors that areidentified as causes of high risks of morbidity, such as visceral fat,excess body fat, low oxygen consumption, poor posture and low RMR. Theprogram includes recommendations for specific exercise, nutrition, diet,activity, sleep and health care treatment. In step 208, once the user isprovided with their program, the user is provided with one or morewireless health devices and applications to track their participation inthe program. This includes tracking their general activity (steps,exertion, sleep), heart rates and recovery (such as during a workout),caloric intake and food type, weight, BMI, etc. The activity may betracked and entered through separate devices configured for eachmeasurement parameter or through a combined device integrated into aportable electronic device such as a smartphone or tablet. The portableelectronic device may run applications which receive the data andtransmit it to the dashboard server, and other wireless health devicesmay be configured to transmit the data through their own device serversto the dashboard server. The user is also provided with the interactivedashboard graphical user interface, where they can view and track theiractivity and progress and communicate with plan administrators,healthcare professionals and other users (step 210). In step 212 theuser may be provided with points and rewards as an incentive forcompleting and progressing through various steps of the plan. In step214, the user's progress may be evaluated at certain time points duringthe plan to assess their progress and physiological changes. The user'sprogress, whether good or bad, and the newly received information fromthe assessment and the wireless health devices, may be utilized toadjust the program in one or more aspects to help the user moreeffectively achieve their goals (step 216). For example, as the userbegins an exercise program and increases their RMR and VO2 and decreasestheir heart rate recovery, their recommended caloric intake and foodbalance may be adjusted to account for their increase in caloriesburned, or their heart rate and heart rate recovery goals may beadjusted based on their recently collected data. These adjustments maybe made in real-time as the data collected from the mobile healthdevices is received or as the user's health is re-assessed at regularintervals. The parameters of the health and wellness program may beindividually adjusted, and the parameters may be adjusted to reduce orsimplify the requirements of the program if the user's activity hasdropped or the user's health is re-assessed to be lower than a previousassessment. The adjustments may then be displayed to the user on thedashboard graphical user interface or transmitted via a notification sothe user can implement the changes in real-time

The timeline and specific steps of the system and method are set forthin further detail in FIG. 7. In a first enrollment and kick-off step 702scheduled for Month 1, initial assessments 704 and consultations 706 areperformed on the user, including a biometric assessment, segmental bodycomposition analysis, resting metabolism and cardiovascular fitness(VO2) test. This is followed by a medical examination with a clinicianand the scheduling of lab tests. Genetic testing is also performed inthis step in order to obtain data that may be relevant to the user'soverall medical condition, health and fitness ability and nutritionalpredispositions. The enrollment step also includes a nutritionconsultation 706 for an analysis of current diet and eating habits andthe creation of a personal food plan designed to achieve health goals.The user will then be provided with a fitness assessment 708personalized to their current level of fitness in order to developspecific recommendations for exercise and activity that will help themimprove as quickly as possible. The fitness assessment 708 includesestablishing a personalized heart rate zone and a detailed explanationof the fitness and exercise program of interval training Finally, theuser will be issued one or more mobile health devices and relatedsoftware (such as a smartphone app) for tracking and monitoring theiractivities.

In Month 2, the user begins (at step 710) engaging with the system andlearning healthy behaviors as they begin following the programinstructions for exercise, nutrition and any medical interventions. Thismay include monitored exercise sessions 712 where the user is guidedthrough the fitness interval training to maximize their heart rates andreduce their overall recovery time. During Month 2, the user may bereevaluated (step 714) with regard to their RMR and body composition todiscuss their short term progress. A detailed genetic review 716 mayalso be completed as this stage to help the user understand the geneticcomponents of their metabolism, response to exercise, propensity forvitamin deficiencies, eating behaviors and food reactions.

In Month 3 (step 724), a complete reassessment of the user is completedin order to adjust the user's training and exercise, caloric intake,etc. based on their progress. A complete biometric assessment 728,including segmental body composition analysis, resting metabolism andcardiovascular fitness (VO2) test is performed again in order to comparewith previous results. A review of the nutrition plan may also becompleted, and adjustments made based on the user's progress,improvements and compliance.

In Month 4-6, the user is provided with continued coaching andengagement (step 726) with the system in order to keep the user involvedin the program and maintaining their improved health and fitness. Thisincludes interactions with their user profile over the dashboard anduser interfaces, points systems and rewards to provide continuousincentives, and additional assessments of the user to determine if theuser is maintaining or continuing to make progress toward long termgoals.

The steps may be achieved over a period of time designed to provide agradual improvement in the user's health and wellness and build goodbehavior without overwhelming the user with information and tasks. Inone embodiment, the primary assessment, engagement and reassessmentssteps may be completed over a period of approximately three months, withthe continued coaching and engagement steps occurring over another twomonths to ensure continued compliance with the program. However, theprogram could ideally continue indefinitely in order to motivate theuser to continue with the program and attain an ideal health profile.

III. Collecting User Data

In one embodiment, the data sources which collect and transmit data onthe user may include a scale for measuring weight and body composition,a pedometer or other exercise monitor which measures steps and caloriesburned, a heart rate monitor, a continuous glucose monitor, a bloodpressure monitor and a sleep monitor. These devices are only exemplary,and numerous other health, fitness, environment and nutrition monitoringdevices may be implemented and used to generate user data. These devicesmay be added to a user's account so that the device can transmit data tothe front-end cloud server, either wired or wirelessly through aconnection to a network or with a user's computer or portable electronicdevice running software which receives data from the third party datasources and transmits it to the front-end cloud server. Many wirelesshealth devices have open application programming interfaces (APIs) whichallow them to be easily integrated with a system running on thefront-end cloud server that will compile, analyze and display the data.

The type of data that may be collected about a user relates to theuser's medical, genetic, fitness, environment and nutrition. The medicaldata may include general information on disease or known healthproblems, but may also include specific physiological or biochemicalmeasurements, examples of which include heart rate, resting metabolicrate (RMR), VO₂, weight, body fat, visceral fat, muscle mass, bodywater, body mass index (BMI), bone mass and blood glucose. Genetic datamay include core genomic information and more targeted genomicinformation that specifically relates to known genetic correlations withdisease, nutrition, fitness and behavior. Fitness data may relate toexercise routines, types of workouts, length of time spent on exercise,calories burned, heart rates achieved, etc., while environmental datamay relate generally to a user's lifestyle choices, such as sleep,smoking habits, commute times to works and hobbies and sports. Nutritiondata may include information on the types of foods eaten, the caloriesconsumed, the number of meals and snacks, beverages and alcoholicconsumption, etc.

As illustrated in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, assessing the user's VO2 andheart rate recovery time is another data point to be collected in orderto assess the user's overall health and fitness. The chart in FIG. 8Ashows a list of time intervals 802 in a first column with acorresponding workload (speed/incline) value 804 in the second column ofan exercise machine such as a treadmill. As time progresses, thespeed/incline increases, which has a corresponding effect on the user'sVO2, as provided in the third column 806. During the assessment, thehealthcare professional or evaluator will enter the user's heart rate inbeats per minute (BPM) 808 at each time interval in order to gauge theuser's overall fitness and ability in terms of a maximum heart rate. Arecovery period 810 is also measured at the end of the workloadapplication, for example for about two minutes—in order to determine theability of the user's heart to recover from the applied work. Therecovery period is another key factor in assessing the user's overallhealth and fitness, and this recovery period metric will be usedthroughout the system to determine if the user's cardiac health andfitness is improving.

FIG. 8B shows a similar chart, but with increased speed/incline values804 and corresponding increased VO2 values 806. Multiple graduatedincreases in workload may be provided during a user assessment atvarious stages of the embodied methods in order to gradually increasethe workload on the user and increase their overall VO2 and RMR levels.As is evident from a comparison of the VO2 levels 806 in FIG. 8A and theVO2 levels 806 in FIG. 8B, the goal is to gradually increase the user'sfitness to the point that their measured heart rates 808 are the sameeven though the workload and VO2 has significantly increased.

IV. Aggregating and Analyzing Data

In one embodiment, data from employees, patients and consumers areacquired via health assessment questionnaires, six independentwirelessly enabled mobile health-tracking devices that measure restingmetabolism, blood pressure, blood glucose, heart rate during exercise,steps per day, activity/movement levels via an accelerometer, weight andbody composition via a scale, cardiorespiratory fitness levels asdefined by VO₂ (oxygen consumption during submaximal exercise testing)and calorie consumption. Additional laboratory data and geneticinformation are aggregated and analyzed as described below.

Age, weight, body mass index, gender, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol,triglyceride levels, adiponectin, lipoprotein (a) levels, and systemicinflammation as defined by high sensitivity CRP are collected and keyco-morbidities including obesity, diabetes, diabetes control,hypertension, coronary artery disease, prostate cancer, breast cancer,colon cancer, lung cancer, smoking status are all ascertained at thebeginning of the assessment process.

Key genetic information is strategically acquired and includespolymorphisms indicating susceptibility to breast cancer, lung cancer,colon cancer, prostate cancer, hypertension, stroke, atrialfibrillation, coronary artery disease, diabetes, and obesity. Keygenetic susceptibilities to vitamin deficiencies, blood pressure anddiabetes response to exercise, and key behaviors related to psychosocialfactors including eating disinhibition and satiety are recorded in theexisting database.

Once all of the user data has been collected, the data is analyzed inorder to generate a user profile which not only summarizes the datacollected about the user but also provides analytical results about theuser's health and wellness. As previously described above, FIG. 4illustrates the interrelationships between the data collected by severaldata sources and the use of this data in generating the components ofthe user profile. The data sources may include mobile health devices,metabolic health assessments, genetic and traditional laboratory testingand personalized nutrition and fitness plans, although this list is notlimiting by any means. Data on the user's health and wellness iscollected from all of these data sources and then considered separatelyor in conjunction with one another in order to provide personalizedhealth and wellness programs with recommendations on an interactivedashboard graphical user interface. The data is optimized to the benefitof the user by factoring in data from all of these data sources whengenerating recommendations for the user to improve his or her health andwellness

Ranking and rating systems are developed based on knowledge of whichfactors and comorbidities and which levels of those factors lead toimproved health and wellness, reduced mortality, and better quality oflife.

In one embodiment, the system ranks the health of a patient based on sixkey performance metrics tied to reduced chronic disease and death. Thegrading system is applied after cross referencing the database ofcomorbidities, genetic testing, and standard laboratory testing notedabove

The six key performance metrics include visceral fat, body fat inpercentage, resting metabolism as defined by calories of intake per dayand overall oxygen consumption at rest (ml/kg/min), cardiorespiratoryfitness, biomechanical assessment (that includes a posture screen), andoverall bone density.

A segmental body scan is done to determine the individual's body fatpercentage expressed as a total body fat percentage and then broken downto each arm, each leg, and trunk. It also gives segmental body fat inpounds for each leg, arm, and trunk/visceral fat. Being able todetermine the pounds of visceral fat is very unique and is used as animportant health risk appraisal. The scan also tells body water, musclemass and bone mass.

Resting metabolism is established based on the individual's ability toprocess oxygen at rest (VO2). It also gives the exact caloric intake theuser should have to reach their weight goal, be it to lose weight,maintain weight, or gain weight. Resting metabolism varies widely acrosspopulations.

A method to assess baseline and follow up cardiorespiratory fitnessscores are performed and are based on the individual's ability toprocess oxygen while exercising.

A bio-mechanical screen can quickly determine any posture/coreimbalances that an individual has that might lead to injury and or backand joint pain. The assessments consist of 5 kinetic check points: head,shoulder, hips, knees, and feet.

Resting metabolism, body composition analysis, and cardiorespiratoryfitness provide critical user profile data that is leveraged toestablish a personalized health, fitness, and nutrition plan.Re-assessments are done at four week intervals to track progress withnuanced changes being incorporate and conveyed to the user either inperson or the graphical user interface of the software application.

Health Grading System

One embodiment of a grading system as applied to an individual who is 55years of age and with one chronic disease risk factor would look likethe following. Resting Metabolic Rate, (VO2), Goals and Grades. Restingrate of 3.5 ml/kg/min, grade, B−. Resting rate below a 3.5 ml/kg/min,grade, C. Resting rate above 3.5-3.8 ml/k/min, grade, B. Resting rateabove 3.8-4.4 ml/kg/min, grade B+. Resting rate 4.5 ml/kg/min and abovean A. The above grading may change according to age, gender, andco-morbidities, and is automatically applied via an integrated softwareapplication.

When the goals are set there are several factors used to determine thegoals in body comp, Resting VO2 and Exercising VO2. Age, gender andgenetics can have impact on all these parameters. Not all individualswill be able to reach an A grade in each category. It is the goal toensure that the individuals have no C's as a grade once they havecompleted the program.

Metabolism/VO2 decreases as we age unless we take actions to counter it.The generic values of 3.5 ml/kg/min for resting metabolism and35/ml/kg/min are considered typical of a young healthy male. Higher VO2at rest and when exercising is linked to greater health and longevity,therefore we set the values above the “norms” for most individuals. Thisallows for a decrease with age but still does not allow the person todip below the generic population values, providing a safety net ofsorts.

In one embodiment, a goal is set of VO2 exercising to be 12 times thatof their resting VO2 for most individuals. That would result in a gradeof B. If the individual has a VO2 between 10 and 12 times their restingthey receive B−. If the VO2 is between 12-14 times their resting theyreceive a B+. A VO2 greater than 14 times their resting is an A. If theindividual has VO2 less than 10 times their resting they receive a C.The above grading changes according to age, gender, and co-morbiditiesand is automatically applied via the integrated software application.

Body Fat Percentage is based on the individual's baseline athleticability or history of athleticism. Being able to obtain very low bodyfat % levels is based greatly on genetics of the individual. If they donot fall into the “Athlete” definition a less aggressive goal is set.Age, gender and genetics are all factors in determining body fat % goal.

The main focus on body composition is to decrease visceral/trunk fat ashigher levels of visceral/trunk fat are tied to inflammation, heartdisease and cancer. The athletic individual would have a goal ofvisceral fat of 10 lb. or less. For the majority the goal is between 15or 20 lb. depending on existing co-morbidities. Those with 1 risk factorhave a goal visceral fat level of less than 15 pounds. The scientificcommunity states a visceral fat of 50 lb. or more (Visceral Score of 10or higher) is a significantly high risk for major health issues. Avisceral fat of 20 or less pounds is realistic if their exercise andnutrition is appropriate. This keeps the individual well below thesignificant health risk level. A visceral fat level of 10 lb. or lesswould be a score of A− or A. A visceral fat level of 11 lb-20 lb wouldbe a score of B+ or B. A visceral fat score above 21 lb-25 lb. would bea B−. Anything 26 lb. above would be C.

Bone Mass Grade is based off a scale that has been determined byscientific community as average or below average and it is determined bythe weight in bone the person has in comparison to the persons overallweight. If the person has average bone mass as predetermined by a scalethe person gets a B, if the individual has below average bone mass theyreceive a C, if the person is well above the average value the receivean A.

Posture/Core Screen—As stated above posture and lack of core strengthcan lead to muscle, joint and back pain which also leads to decreasedactivity, productivity and often pharmaceutical use in individuals.Individuals who are older, 68 or above, who have these issues havelimited range of motion and lack of balance. They are more likely tofall and break a bone. If all 5 kinetic chain check points aresatisfactory the individual receives a grade of an A. If the individualhas one kinetic check point that is not satisfactory the individualreceives a B−. If the individual has more than one kinetic check pointthat is not satisfactory then the individual receives a C.

RevUp Age Calculation

Another grading mechanism is the calculation of the user's “RevUP age,”which is a measurement of the user's actual age based on their VO2 max(mL/kg/min) measurements or heart rate recovery. An individual's VO2 ishighly correlated with age, so this RevUp age score provides a numericalvalue that is easy for a user to understand and which clearly indicatesthe effect (positive or negative) on their age as a result of their VO2.The user's RevUP age is a metric of their overall health in years ascompared with their actual chronological age, where their RevUp age maybe less than their actual age if they have a good VO2 level, but morethan their actual age if they have a poor VO2 level, as indicated by theexemplary guidelines in Table 1 and Table 2, below:

TABLE 1 GENDER AGE POOR FAIR AVERAGE GOOD EXCELLENT MEN ≦29 ≦37.9  38-41.6 41.7-45.5 45.6-50.9 ≧51 30-39 ≦36.6 36.7-40.6 40.7-43.9  44-47.9 ≧48 40-49 ≦34.7 34.8-38.3 38.4-42.3 42.4-45.9 ≧46 50-59 ≦31.9  32-35.4 35.5-38.9   39-42.9 ≧43 60-69 ≦28.6 28.7-32.2 32.3-35.535.6-38.9 ≧39 70-79 ≦25.6 25.7-29.3 29.4-32.3 32.4-35.9 ≧36 WOMEN ≦29≦32.1 32.3-36.0 36.1-39.4 39.5-42.9 ≧43 30-39 ≦30.8 30.9-34.1 34.2-37.637.7-42.9 ≧42 40-49 ≦29.3 29.4-32.7 32.8-35.9 35.9-38.9 ≧39 50-59 ≦26.726.8-29.8 29.9-32.5 32.6-35.9 ≧36 60-69 ≦24.5 24.6-27.4 27.3-29.629.7-31.9 ≧32 70-79 ≦23.4 23.5-25.8 25.9-28.0 28.1-29.9 ≧30

TABLE 2 AGE (years) POOR FAIR AVERAGE GOOD EXCELLENT ≦29 +5 +3 ActualAge −3 −5 30-39 +10 +5 Actual Age −5 −10 40-49 +5 Actual age −3 −5 −1050-59 +5 −3 −5 −10 −20 60-69 +3 −5 −10 −20 −30    70+ +3 −5 −15 −20 −30Chronological age: 529 yearsIf Excellent; chronological age−5=RevUp AgeIf Good; chronological age−3=RevUp AgeIf Average; chronological age−0=RevUp AgeIf Fair; chronological age+3=RevUp AgeIf Poor; chronological age+5=RevUp AgeChronological age: 30-39 yearsIf Excellent; chronological age−10=RevUp AgeIf Good; chronological age−5=RevUp AgeIf Average; chronological age−0=RevUp AgeIf Fair; chronological age+5=RevUp AgeIf Poor; chronological age+10=RevUp AgeChronological age: 40-49 yearsIf Excellent; chronological age−10=RevUp AgeIf Good; chronological age−5=RevUp AgeIf Average; chronological age−3=RevUp AgeIf Fair; chronological age−0=RevUp AgeIf Poor; chronological age+5=RevUp AgeChronological age: 50-59 yearsIf Excellent; chronological age−20=RevUp AgeIf Good; chronological age−10=RevUp AgeIf Average; chronological age−5=RevUp AgeIf Fair; chronological age−3=RevUp AgeIf Poor; chronological age+5=RevUp AgeChronological age: 60-69 yearsIf Excellent; chronological age−30=RevUp AgeIf Good; chronological age−20=RevUp AgeIf Average; chronological age−10=RevUp AgeIf Fair; chronological age−5=RevUp AgeIf Poor; chronological age+3=RevUp AgeChronological age: 70+ yearsIf Excellent; chronological age−30=RevUp AgeIf Good; chronological age−20=RevUp AgeIf Average; chronological age−15=RevUp AgeIf Fair; chronological age−5=RevUp AgeIf Poor; chronological age+3=RevUp Age

As indicated above, the measured VO2 level is matched in Table 1 with acustomized range that is identified with a rating classified as Poor,Fair, Average, Good or Excellent. Next, their chronological age is usedto determine the number to add or subtract from their chronological agebased on their rated VO2, as indicated in Table 2. For example, a 60year old male patient has a VO2max of 53. Using the <29 yrs as abaseline, this individual would fall in the excellent category andreceive a 20 year reduction in his chronological age. His RevUp agewould be 30 years. In another embodiment, the RevUp age may becalculated as a factor of the user's heart rate recovery, which is alsoanother indicator that highly correlates with the user's overall health.

Creating a User Profile

After all grading systems are applied and goals set according to generalparameters listed above and key genetic determinants such assusceptibility to key chronic diseases enable more stringent grading andsetting of higher goals. Such information has proven highlymotivational. Genetic variants for key vitamin deficiencies enable apersonalized nutrition plan. Genetic data on blood pressure response toexercise and effects with respect to endurance and strength trainingenable personalized fitness regimens. Heart rate zones are set based onthese data and overall fitness levels noted above. Patients then followthis personalized regimen and are tracked via the continuous monitoringprovided by the wireless devices noted above. Constant feedback isprovided via a graphical user interface of the integrated softwareapplication.

The user data is analyzed in order to generate a user profile whichsummarizes a multitude of health and wellness information about the userand provides metrics for assessing the user's health and wellness. Theuser profile may provide an overall summary or numerical value rankingof the user's health in addition to specific rankings and evaluations ofspecific physiological or biochemical measurements.

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a dashboard graphical userinterface (GUI) 900 which lists a plurality of physiological data,including blood pressure 902, weight 904, total cholesterol 906,inflammation 908, body fat percentage 910, and sleep quality 912. Someof this information is displayed in graphical form to show historicaldata over a period of time, helping the user determine if they aremoving in a certain direction. For example, the user in FIG. 9 is makingprogress in losing weight as evidenced by the chart 904, while the bloodpressure chart 902 indicates that blood pressure is increasing. Someinformation may be displayed using color-coded graphical information,such as a yellow-colored bar for the total cholesterol level of 220 thatis considered potentially unhealthy. In contrast, the indicator forinflammation is a green bar, as the measured level (1 mg/L) is withinhealthy levels.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a GUI of an overall health and wellnessdashboard 1000 which provides a summary of information from severaldifferent categories, including physiological data 1002, fitness data1004, nutrition data 1006 and genetic information 1008. Specifically,FIG. 9 provides a chart with a Nutrition Overview 1006 indicating abreakdown of the levels of fat, sugar, carbohydrates and protein in thefood consumed by the user over a period of time. A genetic report table1008 may also list one or more suggestions for the user based oninformation obtained from the user's genetic profile, includingnutrition advice, fitness advice and warnings about susceptibility toweight gain or certain diseases such as diabetes.

In one embodiment, the user profile includes general health statistics,such as age, height and weight, along with specific measurement values,such as a resting metabolic rate (RMR) at ml/kg/min at kcal/day, fitnesslevels (VO2 at ml/kg/min), caloric intake, body composition, visceralfat, and even physical body profile information such as alignment ofjoints, muscles and movement capabilities.

In one embodiment, the user profile may be displayed as a graphical userinterface (GUI) 1102 to the user on a client dashboard interface such asa computer 1104 with a display or a tablet, smartphone or other portableelectronic device, as shown in FIG. 11. The client dashboard interfacepreferably has one or more input devices such as a mouse, keyboard ortouchscreen with which the user can interact with the GUI. The GUI maybe organized as a “dashboard” that provides the user with helpfulsummaries of a plurality of different information relating to theirgenetics, health, fitness, environment and nutrition in the form ofvisual aids on the dashboard. The information may be presented with aneasily-understandable chart, graph or relevant numerical value that willhelp the user quickly glance at the dashboard and determine an overallsense of their current level of health and wellness, their progresstoward established health and wellness goals and other pertinentinformation. Genomic and nutrigenomic data gathered from genomicprofiles of the user may also be incorporated, such as a recommendeddiet type, predisposition for high blood pressure or high cholesterol,recommendations for types of exercise, and nutritional optimization (forexample, if the body responds well to certain vitamins and nutritionalcomponents). In addition, health predictor tests that indicatepredispositions to diabetes, cancer, etc may also be used andincorporated into the dashboard and recommendations provided therein. Adrug response test that tests a user's response (or lack thereof) toprescription drugs may also be incorporated.

Further details with regard to the dashboard GUI and its relatedfeatures and functions will be provided in Section VI and the relatedfigures, below.

V. Developing Health and Wellness Programs

In one embodiment, customized health and wellness recommendations aredeveloped based on medical and health-related information on theinterrelationships of this data. The ratings and rankings of user datadetermined from the above analysis will inform one or more targetfactors of the user's health which may fall below standard orrecommended levels. Additionally, data on the user's genetic informationmay provide information which leads to a specific recommendation. Forexample, a user may be identified to have a particular genetic traitrelated to satiety which is known to cause a person to need to feel likethey have a full stomach. If this trait is identified in the user, thehealth and wellness program will recommend that the user eat certainfoods at certain times during the day in order to continually feel fullwithout eating high caloric or high fat foods.

Fitness-Based Interventions

In one embodiment, the health and wellness programs may providerecommendations for fitness-based interventions such as cardio exercisewhich will increase the user's RMR, exercises which will achieve acertain heart rate, and diets which will reduce certain levels of fat orcholesterol that were identified as problematic in the user profile. Acustomized cardio interval exercise program may be used which providesfor achieving varying levels of heart rate at varying time intervalsover a period of time. The interval training program is designed tomaximize the increase in RMR and the loss of visceral fat. The user isasked to perform a cardio-based exercise (walking or running) overspecified time intervals while monitoring their heart rate in order toachieve certain heart rates at certain time intervals.

Interval training can yield numerous health benefits such asimprovements in VO2max and decreasing body fat percentage includingvisceral fat. VO2max is an important indicator of cardiorespiratoryfitness. Interval training consists of vigorous intensity periods ofexercise. Greater improvements in VO2max have resulted from vigorousintensity exercise than moderate intensity exercise. Several studieshave examined various volumes of interval training for health benefits.It has been shown that shorter duration, higher intensity intervalprograms have been effective in improving VO2max and decreasing body fatincluding visceral fat weight.

In one embodiment, several target heart rates to achieve at varioustimes during the exercise are developed based on a Maximum Heart Rate(in BPM, or beats per minute) calculated for each user based on theirfitness assessment. In one embodiment, the target heart rates are set asfollows:

Max Effort=Max Heart Rate—15 BPM

Hard Work=(Max Heart Rate—20)−10

Warm up/Recovery=(Max Heart Rate—40)−10

For example, with a Max Heart Rate=200, the target heart rates duringexercise would be:

Max Effort=200-185

Hard Work=180-170

Warm up/Recovery 160-150

Next, the user is asked to exercise for a certain interval of time ateach target heart rate and then repeat the interval as needed in orderto achieve a varying level of heart rate during the exercise. Oneexample of a Performance Improvement Interval, designed to increase theuser's overall physical ability and RMR would be:

10 minute Warm-up

60-90 seconds Difficult

1 minute Max Effort

60-90 seconds Recovery

Repeat 4-6 intervals

In another embodiment, a Medical Interval may be developed for a userwith an underlying medical or health issue that prevents them fromachieving normal goals for exercise and health. The Medical Interval maybe:

10 minute Warm-up

2 minute Difficult

1 minute Max Effort

90-120 seconds Recovery

Repeat 7 intervals

The intervals may be developed based on each user's own perceived levelsof exertion, which can then be dynamically adjusted as the usercompletes their exercise goals. For example, one set of Intervals andPerceived Exertions would be:

-   -   Warm-up/Recovery Interval: Perceived Exertion Rate 6        (Comfortable work)    -   Difficult Interval Perceived Exertion Rate 7-9 (Hard to very        hard)    -   Max Effort Interval: Perceived Exertion Rate 10 (Maximum effort)

However, as the user continues to exercise using the cardio-basedinterval program, their perceived levels of exertion will decrease foreach interval and corresponding heart rate. The exercise program maytherefore dynamically adjust the intervals and corresponding Max HeartRate as the user completes several exercise sessions. Over time, astheir Max Heart Rate increases, their RMR will also increase, and in theprocess, their levels of visceral fat and other unhealthy factors willalso begin to decrease.

Nutrition-Based Interventions

Each user will be provided with a nutritional assessment based on theirgenetic, health and fitness evaluation which is designed to help theuser consume foods which will maximize their health, decrease riskfactors and target any genetic predispositions for certain types offoods that may particularly benefit the user. In addition, the user willbe provided with a calorie goal for daily calorie consumption thatincludes the types of calories to consume (protein, carbohydrates, fat)and how many calories to consume at certain times of day (breakfast,lunch, dinner, morning snack, afternoon snack, pre- and post-workoutsnack, etc.). All of these nutritional recommendations are developed toreduce visceral body fat and are additionally customized for each user.The user will then be directed to track their food consumption in termsof the number of calories and types of calories, which will then beevaluated to ensure that the user is keeping up with their caloric andnutritional goals.

Automation of nutrition feedback will rely on the combination of athorough health risk questionnaire, lab data, biometric data,anthropomorphic data, resting metabolic rate, genetic data, foodallergies and intolerances, dietary restrictions, and food preferences.

Examples of nutritional goals and information include:

Daily caloric breakdown:

a. Based on daily activity level

-   -   i. Non-exercise    -   ii. Medium intensity    -   iii. High intensity        Daily macronutrient balance:

a. Carbohydrate: 40-50%

b. Protein: 30-40%

c. Fat: 20-30%

Macronutrient recommendations:

a. Complex carbohydrates

-   -   iv. Fruit, vegetables, whole grains

b. Lean Protein

-   -   v. Poultry, fish

c. Healthy fats

Portion control:

a. Serving sizes

Daily food routine:

a. Eating every 4-5 hours

-   -   vi. Blood sugar stability and boost metabolism        Food logging:

a. Promoting healthy behavior change

Supplementation.

a. If deficiencies indicated

If the user logs their food 1-2 times per week they receive an emailintended to reinforce the positive behavior of food logging. The contentof the email is detailed and specific to the patient, and includes tips,suggestions, and recommendations designed to keep the patient engaged infood logging.

As shown in FIG. 9, the recommendations may indicate a genetic risk forhigh cholesterol and as a result indicate that further consultation witha doctor or dietician is needed in order to determine what foods willminimize the user's predisposed risk.

Medical and Genetic-Based Interventions

The recommendations may also be medical in nature, such as recommendingthat the user begin taking one or more medications to treat disease(such as diabetes) or reduce risks of determined genetic conditions suchas high cholesterol. If a serious genetic condition is identified, theuser may be provided with options for genetic therapy

The user interface in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 may include a recommendationssection which displays one or more recommendations to the user in orderto help achieve one or more goals with regard to the user's health andwellness. The recommendations may be based on the user's profile and beupdated based on current information that is periodically or constantlybeing input to the front-end cloud server by the third party datasources.

VI. The Dashboard: Monitoring and Tracking User Progress

Once the user is presented with one or more health and wellness programsand their user profile, the user may begin to implement therecommendations by making changes related to their fitness, nutritionand environment. The user may also make medical changes, such as takinga drug to reduce cholesterol or having a surgical procedure to reduce anidentified risk factor. The mobile health devices may provide the meansto track the user's progress toward identified goals in their health andwellness programs, by measuring the same categories of data that wereinitially measured when developing the user profile. In this way, themobile health devices are integral to monitoring a user's progress andevaluating the success of the health and wellness programs.Modifications may be made on a regular basis to the health and wellnessprograms based on the constant stream of data that may be received fromthe mobile health devices and applications that the user interacts within order to track their health.

The user profile may be displayed via an interactive dashboard graphicaluser interface (GUI) to users, administrators and healthcareprofessionals so that each interested party can not only view the databut also interact with the dashboard to provide additionalrecommendations to the user for improving certain aspects of theirhealth and wellness based on the data shown in the dashboard. Changesmade to the dashboard by these parties may be sent back to the front-endcloud server to immediately revise the dashboard content, and thechanges may also be stored in the dashboard database for future display.The dashboard may therefore be continually revised based on the healthand wellness data collected on the user and the information input by theinterested parties that view the dashboard.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a system and method of generatingthe interactive health and wellness dashboard, according to oneembodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, data on a user iscollected from a plurality of sources, such as a mobile health device, amobile application on a portable electronic device or through manualuser entry via a computing device. The mobile health devices and mobileapplications may be configured to collect information on the user as theuser wears or uses the device. In one embodiment, these devices maycommunicate with one or more device or application servers that receivedata collected and then communicate with a dashboard database of afront-end cloud server to collect the data for generating the dashboard.In addition to the devices, additional user data may be collected at thedashboard database in the form of genomic data from a genomic report orlab results from lab tests that the user has undergone. The dashboarddatabase will collect all of the medical, genetic, fitness,environmental and nutrition information about the user that will then beused to generate the dashboard. These devices may be configured tocontinually collect and report data to the dashboard database inreal-time or at periodic increments so the dashboard can be continuallyupdated to provide the most relevant information about the user's healthand wellness. Some devices may require user input, such as a nutritionapplication running on a portable electronic device in which the userinputs dietary and nutrition information, and the user may beresponsible for submitting the data manually as it is entered or atperiodic time periods after a certain amount of data is collected. Insome embodiments, the nutrition data may be obtained from mobile healthdevices or at least more accurately tracked by software or applicationsrunning on the portable electronic device (such as a tablet orsmartphone). Similarly, some user fitness data may be generated orreported by a user.

Once the user data is collected at the dashboard database, the front-endcloud server will request the data in order to generate the health andwellness dashboard. In this embodiment, the data in the dashboarddatabase is protected by a secure firewall, and additional firewalls maybe placed throughout the system to protect data being transmitted acrossthe system. The front-end cloud server then analyzes the data usingproprietary algorithms to compare data, analyze it for patterns and thengenerate the health and wellness dashboard with user-specific health andwellness information based on all of the available data. The health andwellness dashboard may reflect a user profile that is generated at thefront-end cloud server based on analytics which may contain recommendedphysiological levels for weight, heart rate, etc., recommended fitnessand nutrition routines, and other recommendations based on the datacollected about the user.

Once the dashboard is generated, it may be transmitted to one or moredestinations for display to an interested party, including the user(patient), a healthcare team responsible for the user's health, or acorporate wellness administrator set up to monitor the user's progresstoward specific health goals. The dashboard may be interactivelydisplayed to each of these destinations so that each interested partycan not only view the data but also interact with the dashboard toprovide additional recommendations to the user for improving certainaspects of their health and wellness based on the data shown in thedashboard. Changes made to the dashboard by these parties may be sentback to the front-end cloud server to immediately revise the dashboardcontent, and the changes may also be stored in the dashboard databasefor future display. The dashboard may therefore be continually revisedbased on the health and wellness data collected on the user and theinformation input by the interested parties that view the dashboard.

Dashboard Organization and Interaction

Once the data is correlated and analyzed, a graphical user interface(GUI) may be generated and displayed to the user on a client dashboardinterface such as a computer with a display or a tablet, smartphone orother portable electronic device, as illustrated in FIG. 12. The clientdashboard interface preferably has one or more input devices such as amouse, keyboard or touchscreen with which the user can interact with theGUI. The GUI may be organized as illustrated in FIG. 9, as a “dashboard”that provides the user with helpful summaries of a plurality ofdifferent information relating to their genetics, health, fitness,environment and nutrition in the form of visual aids on the dashboard.The information may be presented with an easily-understandable chart,graph or relevant numerical value that will help the user quickly glanceat the dashboard and determine an overall sense of their current levelof health and wellness, their progress toward established health andwellness goals and other pertinent information. Genomic and nutrigenomicdata gathered from genomic profiles of the user may also beincorporated, such as a recommended diet type, predisposition for highblood pressure or high cholesterol, recommendations for types ofexercise, and nutritional optimization (for example, if the bodyresponds well to certain vitamins and nutritional components). Inaddition, health predictor tests that indicate predispositions todiabetes, cancer, etc may also be used and incorporated into thedashboard and recommendations provided therein. A drug response testthat tests a user's response (or lack thereof) to prescription drugs mayalso be incorporated.

One embodiment of the dashboard 1200 is illustrated in FIG. 12, whichdisplays graphics indicating the user's steps 1202, cardio goal 1204,caloric intake 1206, weight 1208 as well as additional information onthis data, such as a history of caloric intake 1202 for a precedingweek, a change in weight 1208 over a period of time, or a graphicindicating the percentage of steps 1202 achieved toward a goal. Anactivity section 1210 displays all recent activity relating to theprogram, such as accomplishments, data entered, points and rewards,goals, alerts, requirements, suggestions, etc. Additional graphics onthe lower right will provide an overall progress graphic 1212 toward anoverall program goal, such as increased RMR, fitness, metabolism,weight, etc. The user may be able to select any one of these graphics tosee a more detailed breakdown of a specific data point, such as weight,for example.

FIG. 13 illustrates a health page 1300 of the dashboard interface whichprovides detailed graphics and indicators for numerous health metricswhich are measured and tracked by the system. The health page dashboardprovides the user with a unique perspective on their overall health, asmeasured by at least fourteen different biometric measurements 1304,such as LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, inflammation,glucose, diabetes risk, vitamin D, thyroid (TSH), kidney, liver (AST andALT), hemoglobin, adiponectin and hematocrit. Graphs 1302 may showhistorical and current data on metrics such as weight, body fat andblood pressure so the user can see trends for these indicatorsindividually as well as together with other metrics for comparison witheach other. In one embodiment, the metrics displayed may be changed byselecting different metrics from a list below the graphs. In addition tothe graphs, numerous additional metrics may be listed on the health pagealong with the numerical value 1306 for each metric, a slider bargraphic 1308 indicating where the numerical value falls within a rangeof normal or expected values for the metric, and a status icon 1310indicating whether the numerical value is good or bad (in thisillustration, a “thumbs up” indicates the value is good while the thumbsdown indicates the value is bad). Additionally, a bar graph 1312underneath the title for each metric will show historical data of thatmetric over previous measurements, with each circle 1314 pertaining to ameasurement and the color of the circle reflecting whether themeasurement was a good value (i.e. blue circle) or bad value (i.e. redcircle). An additional list of health-related genetics 1316 may also beprovided on the health page along with an indicator 1318 as to whetherthe user has an elevated, decreased, normal or other level of risk for aparticular genetic trait, be it a propensity for disease or simply abehavioral component related to the user's health, nutrition or fitness.

FIG. 14 illustrates a fitness page 1400 of the dashboard interface whichprovides detailed graphical information on the user's fitness activity,such as steps, progress toward goals of activity and cardio exercisegoals 1402, current interval levels 1404 for cardiac exercise andfitness-related genetic information 1406 that reminds the user of morespecific goals that may have been developed based on the user's specificgenetic profile. A primary goal of the fitness page is to help the userachieve a desired heart rate range for certain levels of activity, whichwill lead to improved RMR, VO2, metabolism and overall cardiac health.The user is also provided with suggestions 1408 for the types ofactivities that can be performed to meet fitness goals, such asspinning, rowing, treadmill, etc. The user can select certain activitiesas favorites and also review reports on their past activities. In oneembodiment, the user can create a personal fitness goal, such as“running a marathon,” after which the system will provide the user witha particular set of steps and goals to achieve in order to train for themarathon. The goals and steps may include desired RMR and VO2 levels,heart rate performance and recovery, nutrition and caloricrecommendations along with balances of food types, etc.

FIG. 15 illustrates a nutrition interface 1500 of the dashboard, whichprovides detailed information on the user's nutrition profile and data,such as caloric intake 1502, breakdown of food type 1504 (protein, fat,carbohydrate), nutrition-related genetic information 1506 andrecommendations 1508 for food intake based on the user's profile andhistory. The nutrition dashboard may also provide a meal plan section1510 which provides recommendations for different types of foods whichmeet the user's nutrition goals in terms of calories and food type. Theuser may be able to select certain foods as favorites and search forfoods based on the food breakdown and calorie count. In one embodiment,the user can select a certain type of food if they end up consuming itand provide a review of the food or highlight it as a favorite for thefuture. The system may monitor user selections and develop a suggestedfood plan for the user and other users based on popular selections. Thesystem may also provide recipes for the foods on the nutrition dashboardto help the user make the selected food.

The data collected can be displayed in a wholly interactive,customizable manner depending on each particular user and depending onthe viewer who will be viewing the dashboard. In the embodimentsillustrated in FIGS. 9-24, these reports may be customized for a user, aphysician or healthcare team and even an administrator at a school orcompany who is managing a health incentives program. For example, a userwith medical data indicating risk factors for chronic disease such ashypertension, hypercholesterolemia, coronary artery disease, cancer,diabetes, etc. may be categorized with specific goals to improve theirmortality rates—such as nutrition and fitness recommendations, or insome cases, a recommendation to consult with a doctor to determinewhether a certain disease is present.

The dashboard may also include a recommendations section which displaysone or more recommendations to the user in order to help achieve one ormore goals with regard to the user's health and wellness. Therecommendations may be based on the user's profile and be updated basedon current information that is periodically or constantly being input tothe front-end cloud server by the third party data sources.

The dashboard may also include communication links where a user cancommunicate with a healthcare professional, nutritionist, fitnesstrainer, health coordinator, etc. to discuss the information on theirdashboard and the recommendations being provided. The communicationlinks may be links to separate user interfaces where the user inputsinformation and questions, a messaging tool where the user can send ane-mail, text message or other type of electronic message, or even a linkto an audio or video application where the user can communicate withanother party by voice, video or both.

The dashboard may also have a general notifications section where theuser can be provided with one or more notices regarding their profile,needed actions or messages from an administrator, etc. In oneembodiment, the user may be asked to visit a clinic to complete agenetic profile test or upload new data from one or more wireless healthdevices so that the user's dashboard may be updated.

In one embodiment, the dashboard may provide one or more informationtabs where different classes of information may be grouped together in amore detailed dashboard for a particular category of information. In oneembodiment, the tabs may correspond to health, nutrition, genetics andfitness. By selecting one of these tabs, a new dashboard is displayedwith information specific to one of these categories, allowing the userto see a more detailed breakdown of information in this category thatmight not otherwise be displayed on an overall dashboard overview. Theinformation tabs may also pertain to messaging, notifications,incentives and rewards, syncing with wireless health devices, etc.

The type of data collected and displayed on the dashboard may relate toany component of a user's genetic profile, medical information orhistory, fitness and nutrition. Examples of this data include heartrate, blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity, resting metabolic rate(RMR), oxygen consumption (VO2), weight, body fat, visceral fat, musclemass, body water, bone mass, blood glucose, sleep data, caloric intake,fat intake, vitamin intake, calories burned, fat burned, steps taken(pedometer).

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a health and wellness graphicaluser interface (GUI) dashboard which lists a plurality of physiologicaldata, including blood pressure, weight, total cholesterol, inflammation,body fat percentage, and sleep quality. Some of this information isdisplayed in graphical form to show historical data over a period oftime, helping the user determine if they are moving in a certaindirection. For example, the user in FIG. 9 is making progress in losingweight, while the blood pressure chart indicates that blood pressure isincreasing. Some information may be displayed using color-codedgraphical information, such as a yellow-colored bar for the totalcholesterol level of 220 that is considered potentially unhealthy. Incontrast, the indicator for inflammation is a green bar, as the measuredlevel (1 mg/L) is within healthy levels.

The dashboard may also display one or more notifications to the userabout the measured levels. In the dashboard in FIG. 9, this user isgiven warning notifications about their high cholesterol levels, highblood pressure and obesity. These notifications may be based oncurrently measured levels of these indicators or on genetic profileinformation that indicates a predisposition to one or more of theseconditions. The dashboard in FIG. 9 also displays a notification thatthe user's dashboard is incomplete since it is missing one or more itemsrelated to the user's genetic profile, medical history, fitness ornutrition. The user may be provided with a hyperlink on the notificationwhere steps can be taken to complete the missing items, such asscheduling an appointment with a clinic to finalize a genetic test orsyncing data from a wireless health device with a computer in order toupdate the information on the dashboard.

The dashboard may display a global summary of the user's health andwellness as a summary or home screen, but may also provide more specificdashboard GUIs specific to one type of information, such as nutrition,genetics (DNA), fitness and challenges. The challenges dashboard GUI mayprovide one or more activities in which the user can participate.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of a GUI of an overall health and wellnessdashboard which provides a summary of information from several differentcategories, including physiological data, fitness data, nutrition dataand genetic information. Specifically, FIG. 9 provides a chart with aNutrition Overview indicating a breakdown of the levels of fat, sugar,carbohydrates and protein in the food consumed by the user over a periodof time. A genetic report table may also list one or more suggestionsfor the user based on information obtained from the user's geneticprofile, including nutrition advice, fitness advice and warnings aboutsusceptibility to weight gain or certain diseases such as diabetes.

Health Alerts

The user may also receive one or more health alerts either through thedashboard 1600, as illustrated in FIG. 16, or via a separate messagingprotocol 1700 (SMS/MMS text messages, e-mails, etc) on the user'sportable electronic device, as illustrated in FIG. 17. The alerts 1602may tell the user that they haven't met one or more goals related to alevel of fitness or nutrition or a physiological measurement related tocholesterol, body composition or blood pressure, etc. The health alertsmay be tiered based on the importance of the alert or the history ofresponse from the user. In one embodiment, a tier one health alert willbe a message 1702 sent from the dashboard, while a tier two health alertis a call from a health coach, physician or other healthcare teammember. A tier three health alert may be an appointment (in person orvirtually) with a physician or other healthcare team member to discussspecifics of the user's health.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, the alerts and notifications may also simplytell the user that they have received a message or notification fromtheir system and provide them with a link to their dashboard in order toprevent transmitting any private medical or health information about theuser.

In one embodiment, the health alert may be customized for a particularuser based on the genetic, medical, fitness and nutrition informationobtained for that user. For example, a tier one alert may be generatedif the user does not have a certain minimum heart rate for a certainperiod of time (which would be indicative of exercise). In anotherembodiment, the user may receive a tier one alert if they gain more than2 pounds in a week, or 5 pounds in a month. Similar alerts may begenerated for levels of blood pressure, a number of steps taken, anumber of calories consumed, etc.—basically any measured value relatingto health, fitness and nutrition. These alerts let the user and theuser's healthcare professional know that their health and wellness goalsare not being met.

Incentive Alerts

In one embodiment, the user may receive “incentive alerts” if certainlevels of health, fitness or nutrition are achieved based on goals thatare customized for each user. For example, a reward may be provided tothe user if they walk a certain amount over a given period of time, loseor maintain a certain amount of weight, reduce their blood pressure to acertain rate, etc. As with the health alerts, the incentive alerts canbe set up for any measured value relating to health, fitness andnutrition. The incentives may also be customized for each user, formembers of a certain group (employees of a company), or based onuser-selected preferences for rewards (monetary, lifestyle, recognition,etc.). Although the incentives may be explicitly shown on the dashboard,in one embodiment, the incentives may be provided to a user separatelyfrom the dashboard, such as by offering a user lower health insurancepremiums if they enroll in a program with the dashboard and meet certaingoals relating thereto.

Additional features of the incentives, as well as a points and rewardssystem, are described further below.

Group Reports

FIG. 18 is an illustration of a GUI 1800 of a group health and wellnessdashboard illustrating a plurality of information aggregated for a groupof people; according to one embodiment of the invention. The groupreport may display overall health and wellness information 1802 for agroup of people, such as employees in a company. The group dashboard inFIG. 16 may therefore display overall averages of information, such astotal weight lost by the group and an average weight loss per person1804, a total distance run 1806, the amount of incentives and rewards1808 provided to the group of users, the average male BMI 1810 andfemale BMI levels 1812, and even a total amount of sick days 1814accrued by the group along with a comparison to previous levels. A groupadministrator can therefore view the details and historical levels ofthe group, including the goals, to determine if the group is makingprogress and if certain incentives are effective.

Healthcare Professional Dashboard

FIG. 19 is an illustration of a GUI of a clinical dashboard 1900 for useby a medical or healthcare professional in evaluating the health andwellness of one or more users, according to one embodiment of theinvention. The healthcare professional dashboard may include a list ofpatients 1902 for whom the healthcare professional is responsible alongwith an overall summary 1904 of each patient's information, including alist of “health alerts” 1906 for users which are assigned to aparticular healthcare professional. The progress 1908 of each usertoward particular goals and charts and graphs of data relating tofitness and nutrition information may be displayed to the healthcareprofessional, along with options to obtain more detailed information ona particular user and the user's profile. Other options on thehealthcare professional dashboard include the ability to communicate1910 with each user or group of users using a built-in messaging tool(described above), a section displaying all health alerts, a sectiondisplaying notifications, a section displaying user progress towardgoals, etc. The healthcare professional dashboard may also provideoptions for adding and enrolling new users and managing user accounts.

The healthcare professional dashboard may also provide analytical toolsthat help a healthcare professional analyze data from one or more usersand attempt to correlate data to determine if goals and recommendationsshould be changed or modified. The goals and recommendations may becustomized for each user by the healthcare professional or provided toan overall group of users who exhibit similar profiles.

FIG. 20 is another illustration of the GUI of the healthcareprofessional dashboard 2000 showing fitness alerts 2002 with detaileduser profile information on a user's recent exercise regimen 2004, thetype of exercise completed and the number of calories that the userburned 2006.

FIG. 21 is another illustration of the GUI of the healthcareprofessional dashboard 2100 displaying a list of nutrition alerts 2102with a chart 2104 of caloric intake for a particular user over severaldays. The healthcare professional can see whether the user has met orexceeded a specified number of calories consumed per day and then followup or issue an alert to the user that they are not meeting a goal ofminimizing calorie consumption over a period of time. If the alert isautomatically sent by the dashboard to the user, the healthcareprofessional may also receive the alert in the fitness alerts window andthen view the detailed information to see why the user is receiving thealert.

FIG. 22 is an illustration of a GUI of an interactive messaging service2200 integrated into the health and wellness dashboard for communicationbetween the user and the healthcare professional. In this illustration,the healthcare professional can select an option on the dashboard tosend a message to the user, which opens a new messaging window 2202where the healthcare professional can communicate with the user todiscuss their progress (or lack thereof) toward one or more goals. Themessaging protocol may be any known communication medium, such as text(SMS or MMS), e-mail, instant messaging, video or audio calls, etc.

FIG. 23 is another illustration of the GUI of the healthcareprofessional dashboard 2300 with a weight alerts window 2302 displayedfor one or more users.

Grading

The patient's progress toward their health goals may be evaluated bymeasuring the same parameters measured during the initial assessmentphase and then determining a grade, such as a letter or numerical valuewhich indicates the patient's progress or achievement of their goals atany point during the patient's participation. In one embodiment, theuser is graded on the same values described above with regard to theirassessment, including their RMR level, Body Fat Percent, Visceral Fatand VO2, as indicated in Tables 1-11 immediately below:

TABLE 1 Resting Metabolic Rate - ml/kg/min Grade Goal A >4.51 A−4.26-4.50  5% increase B+ 4.01-4.25 10% increase B 3.50-4.0 15% increaseC+ 3.25-3.49 20% increase C 3.0-3.24 25% increase C <2.9 30% increase

TABLE 2 Body Fat Percent Percent Goal Male Goal Female C 50-40% 50%decrease 40% decrease C+ 39.9-35% 40% decrease 30% decrease B− 34.9-30%35% decrease 25% decrease B 29.9%-25% 30% decrease 20% decrease B+24.9%-20% 25% decrease 10% decrease A− 19.9-16% 20% decrease  5%decrease A 15.9-10% 15% decrease  0% decrease

TABLE 3 Visceral Fat lb. Grade Goal >40 lbs. C 50% decrease 35-35.99 C50% decrease 30-34.99 C+ 45% decrease 25-29.99 lb. B− 45% decrease20-24.99 lbs. B 40% decrease 15.0-19.9 lbs. B+ 30% decrease 10.0-14.9lbs. A− 20% decrease 9.9 A

TABLE 4 VO2 - ml/kg/min Grade Goal A >53 A− 49.9-52.9  5% increase B+45.0-49.9 10% increase B 40.0-44.9 15% increase B− 35.0-39.9 20%increase C+ 31.0-34.9 25% increase C 25-30.9 30% increase C <24.9 35%increase

TABLE 5 Caloric Guidelines - (REE = Resting Energy Expenditure) WeightLoss range Top caloric intake = REE Peak exercise days Average caloricintake = REE - 15% Medium intensity exercise day Minimum caloric intake= REE - 20% Non exercise day

TABLE 6 Maintenance intake range Top caloric intake = REE x 20%, Peakintensity days Average caloric intake = REE x 10%, Medium intensity daysMinimum caloric intake Grading System .docxREE

TABLE 7 Bone Mass A = above average bone mass B = average bone mass C =below average bone mass

TABLE 8 Male - Average Weight Less than 143 lb., 5.9 lb Weight 143-200,7.3 lb. Weight 200-up, 8.1 lb.

TABLE 9 Female Average Weight Less than 110, 4.3 lb. Weight 110 - 165,5.3 lb. Weight 165 - up, 6.5 lb.

TABLE 10 Posture/Core A = All 5 kinetic chain check points satisfactoryB = 4 satisfactory kinetic check points C = 3 or fewer satisfactorycheck points

TABLE 11 Definition of grades C = Health Alert, high importance toimprove B = Satisfactory but health potential not achieved A = FullHealth Potential has been achieved

Each individual parameter may have customized levels based on thesignificance of each parameter to the user's overall health, and thegrades for each parameter may be used individually, to provide the userwith a more detailed assessment of their health, or together (such as byaveraging the grades for all parameters) in order to provide the userwith an overall assessment of their health. As indicated in Table 11,the grades (letter or numeric) may have specific meaning with regard toaction items that the user needs to complete. The goals may be set basedon levels of each parameter which are generally considered in a healthyrange for all humans, or which are customized for the particular userbased on their initial assessment and continuously-updated assessments.

Points and Rewards

In one embodiment, a points system may be implemented where users earnpoints for various activities and levels of participation, achievementof intermediate and overall goals of the program, and other activitiesthat would benefit from incentivizing. The points may be used to competeagainst other users in a game to provide motivation via competition, orto earn rewards that will further motivate them to continueparticipation. The points system is designed to accomplish two goals:motivating participants to engage in healthy activities and providing areliable metric for users, health care provider and organizationsadministering and subscribing to the system to track user participation.

The points system may be integrated into the overall dashboard and userinterface 2400 so the user sees the points they earn for each activityand goal, as shown in FIG. 24. The Recent Activity feed section 2402displays the points 2404 associated with all the health-related activityof the participant so they can see the reward from their activities inreal-time. Points may be weighted so that actions with higher impact onhealth and/or greater levels of participation receive more points.Participants can then see which activities 2406 provide more points,thus motivating them to engage in those healthy behaviors morefrequently.

Users can earn points every time they track their activity, exercise,food intake, blood pressure and other metrics. Additional points may beawarded with a participant achieves a health goal or milestone. Thesystem allows providers to decide what levels of participation theywould like to set for their users to receive rewards and incentives,which may be tied to the overall goal of the provider or organization.

FIG. 25 illustrates a table with one embodiment of a points system whichrewards points to users based on recording activity with an activitytracking device (such as a Fitbit), taking a certain amount of steps perday, an amount of heavy activity per day, recording the user's weightwith a scale, logging food and achieving specific overall step goals.Different Groups A, B and C may be created based on different levels ofparticipation within the system, such that some groups may notparticipate in certain activities and tracking A threshold value may beprovided within each activity that defines a minimum amount of theactivity that will earn the points. For example, in order to earn pointsfor logging food each day, the user must log at least 500 calories worthof food. An additional threshold value may be provided, as indicated inthe far right column, which provides the maximum value of points thatcan be earned for a particular activity over the course of the program.Providing intermediate awards and points will help motivate users alongthe way and help users who may not achieve a reward in one month to worktoward a reward in a subsequent month.

FIG. 26 illustrates an outcome-based points system which awards pointsbased on achieving certain outcomes or progress toward an outcome, suchas a desired RMR, visceral fat, body fat, VO2 or HbA1c. In thisembodiment, the points are awarded as a percentage of the user'sachievement of the outcome, such that a user who attains 90% of theirset RMR goal will obtain 90% of a total of 250 possible points. Thesepoints may be awarded at various assessments during the program as wellas at the end of the program.

FIG. 27 illustrates possible incentives and rewards that may be providedto the various Groups by each program sponsor or provider. The incentivedesign refers to whether the incentive is designated for a specificindividual user or a group of users based on group achievement. Forexample, in FIG. C, the Group C (Example 3) may be provided with agroup-designed incentive based on an arrangement of 14 groups of 5people who are all blindly participating in the groups. An incentive,such as cash, may be awarded to the individuals that hit theirthresholds within each group, where the cash award is divided by thewinners on a monthly basis. Other incentives include fitness devices,exercise equipment or activity tracking devices to further motivate theuser to participate in the program. As illustrated in the right column,another option is to provide awards to top improvers and point gainersin order to motivate users who may have more difficulty achieving thegoals.

FIG. 28 illustrates several additional activities that may beincentivized through points and rewards. For example, activities thatcould earn points include logging blood pressure, attaining a thresholdvalue of very active minutes, recording interval training sessions witha heart rate monitor, taking a blood glucose reading (i.e. for adiabetic), consecutive days of food logging or logging 90 minutes ofexercise over a 3 day period. The point values and thresholds for eachof these activities may be customized as needed in order to provide theright amount of incentivizing to certain groups of users.

VII. Outcomes

Over ninety percent of patients participating in the embodied methodsexperienced statistically significant improvements in restingmetabolism, body fat, visceral fat reduction and improvements incardiorespiratory fitness.

FIG. 29 is a table illustrating measured physiological changes in a setof patients using the systems and methods described herein over a periodof time. The table illustrates changes the various physiologicalparameters on a per-day value, and also rates the statisticalsignificance of the results (p-value) for the overall change in aparameter. A p value of less than 0.05 generally means that there is astatistically significant improvement in that individual parameter. Thetable also indicates the statistical significance of age and sex on thechanges observed for each value amongst the group of patients. As shownin the table, almost all measured parameters changed over the course ofthe program. Age was not a factor in influencing a patient's response tothe program, although sex (gender) had some influence on patientresponse to some of the parameters. The measurements of VO2, RMR anddecreases in visceral fat are tightly linked to reduced death, and areconsidered key performance metrics.

FIGS. 30-35 are graphical representations of the measured physiologicalchanges in a group of patients over a period of days. FIG. 30illustrates the overall statistical change in numerous health metrics,including BMI, body fat, trunk fat, RMR and VO2. FIG. 31 illustrates thechange in BMI, FIG. 32 illustrates the change in body fat, FIG. 33illustrates the change in trunk fat, FIG. 34 illustrates the change inresting metabolic rate (RMR) and FIG. 35 illustrates the change in VO2.

VIII. Computer Embodiment

FIG. 36 is a block diagram that illustrates an embodiment of acomputer/server system 3600 upon which an embodiment of the inventivemethodology may be implemented. The system 3600 includes acomputer/server platform 3601 including a processor 3602 and memory 3603which operate to execute instructions, as known to one of skill in theart. The term “computer-readable storage medium” as used herein refersto any tangible medium, such as a disk or semiconductor memory, thatparticipates in providing instructions to processor 3602 for execution.Additionally, the computer platform 3601 receives input from a pluralityof input devices 3604, such as a keyboard, mouse, touch device or verbalcommand. The computer platform 3601 may additionally be connected to aremovable storage device 3605, such as a portable hard drive, opticalmedia (CD or DVD), disk media or any other tangible medium from which acomputer can read executable code. The computer platform may further beconnected to network resources 3606 which connect to the Internet orother components of a local public or private network. The networkresources 3606 may provide instructions and data to the computerplatform from a remote location on a network 3607. The connections tothe network resources 3606 may be via wireless protocols, such as the802.11 standards, Bluetooth® or cellular protocols, or via physicaltransmission media, such as cables or fiber optics. The networkresources may include storage devices for storing data and executableinstructions at a location separate from the computer platform 3601. Thecomputer interacts with a display 3608 to output data and otherinformation to a user, as well as to request additional instructions andinput from the user. The display 3608 may therefore further act as aninput device 3604 for interacting with a user.

The above description of disclosed embodiments is provided to enable anyperson skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Variousmodifications to the embodiments will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, the generic principals defined herein can be appliedto other embodiments without departing from spirit or scope of theinvention. Thus, the invention is not intended to be limited to theembodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principals and novel features disclosed herein.

1. A method of developing and implementing personalized health andwellness programs, comprising the steps of: collecting health datapertaining to a user; building a user health profile based on thecollected health data; developing a health and wellness program for theuser based on the user health profile; collecting user activitypertaining to the user's participation in the health and wellnessprogram from one or more wireless health devices; and evaluating theuser's health based on the collected user activity.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the health data is at least one of: medical history,genetic data, nutrition data, fitness data and environmental data. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein the health data includes an oxygenconsumption (VO2) level, resting metabolic rate (RMR), amount ofvisceral fat, amount of body fat and posture.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the health profile includes ratings of the user's health basedon the collected health data.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein theratings are based on the user's values of VO2, RMR, visceral fat, bodyfat and posture.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the health andwellness program includes recommendations for exercise and nutrition. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein the recommendations for exercise andnutrition are designed to improve the user's VO2 and reduce the amountof visceral fat.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or morewireless health devices are worn on the user's body.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the wireless health devices include at least one of: apedometer, a motion sensor, a heart rate monitor and a blood pressuremonitor.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user's activitypertaining to the user's participation in the health and wellnessprogram is displayed on a graphical user interface.
 11. A system fordeveloping and implementing personalized health and wellness programs,comprising: a dashboard server which is configured to perform the stepsof: collecting health data pertaining to a user; building a user healthprofile based on the collected health data; and developing a health andwellness program for the user based on the user health profile; one ormore wireless health devices which collect user activity pertaining tothe user's participation in the health and wellness program; and aninteractive graphical user interface which displays the user's activityand the health and wellness program on a monitor.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein the health data is at least one of: medical history,genetic data, nutrition data, fitness data and environmental data. 13.The system of claim 12, wherein the health data includes an oxygenconsumption (VO2) level, resting metabolic rate (RMR), amount ofvisceral fat, amount of body fat and posture.
 14. The system of claim13, wherein the health profile includes ratings of the user's healthbased on the collected health data.
 15. The system of claim 14, whereinthe ratings are based on the user's values of VO2, RMR, visceral fat,body fat and posture.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the health andwellness program includes recommendations for exercise and nutrition.17. The system of claim 16, wherein the recommendations for exercise andnutrition are designed to improve the user's VO2 and reduce the amountof visceral fat.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or morewireless health devices are worn on the user's body.
 19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the wireless health devices include at least one of: apedometer, a motion sensor, a heart rate monitor and a blood pressuremonitor.
 20. The system of claim 11, wherein the user's activitypertaining to the user's participation in the health and wellnessprogram is displayed on a graphical user interface.